There’s a well-known maxim that says all art aspires to the condition of music. If true, then poetry surely comes very close to meeting it. Indeed, Irish poets and musicians have always cast a particular spell on each other. “Soul Clap its Hands and Sing”, a new series of music and poetry events presented by Poetry Ireland in partnership with the Irish Traditional Music Archive, will offer audiences a chance to enjoy some of the finest artists in both forms as they weave in and out of each other's work.

The American poet Louise Glück famously wrote that “We look at the world once, in childhood. The rest is memory.” Perhaps this is why so many poets have been deeply influenced by their childhood. “They tuck you up, your mum and dad” (Adrian Mitchell’s softer take on Philp Larkin’s original line) is the title for a series of conversations featuring some of Ireland's finest writers and poets as they reflect on the often complex parent / child relationship through memoir and poetry.